Sharp XV-Z17000 Projector – Performance-4

Posted on February 15, 2011 By Art Feierman

Sharp XV-Z17000: Bottom Line Sharpness

Extremely sharp at best, but like its predecessor, it is a touch softer in the corners than other comparably priced single chip DLP projectors. I presume this is part optics, part the shorter throw of the lens, compared to many. For perspective, I would still consider this Sharp XV-Z17000 to be sharper than most LCoS and LCD projectors, including those costing as much or more.

Light Leakage

The Sharp XV-Z17000 gets a clean bill of health when it comes to light leakage. There’s no obvious leakage through the lens, nor from the various vents.

Image Noise

Nothing of interest here. The projector does well on the HQV noise tests that we run. From a viewing standpoint, no problems seen in 2D viewing. It should be noted that in general the DLP projectors seem to always have a touch more basic image noise than other technologies. This Sharp XV-Z17000 fits the DLP profile, with a touch more noise than most LCD or LCoS projectors.

Audible Noise

Audible noise levels are rarely impressively quiet when considering DLP home theater projectors. That said, the Sharp XV-Z17000 isn’t bad. In its not very bright eco-mode, it actually is very quiet, and claims a nice low 23 db spec.

As expected, there’s a lot more fan noise when at full power. Sharp does not publish a decibel claim at full power, but the Sharp, though substantially louder, definitely comes in a couple or three db lower than the Viewsonic Pro8200 (another single chip DLP, 1080p home theater projector) that we just reviewed. Let’s just say it probably measures a little below 30 db, since the Viewsonic claims 31 db. Overall that’s generally acceptable for almost all of us. It sure is a lot quieter than my PS3. Due to the short throw of the Sharp, I’ve been sitting (in my theater) only about two feet to the right, and one foot behind the projector, and the PS3 8 feet away is still noisier.